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The Hanging of George BurroughsMinister Convicted of Witchcraft in Salem
George Burroughs is sentenced to hang for witchcraft along with other accused and sentenced witches.
Even before the Minister George Burroughs' trial for witchcraft began he had not stood a "ghost" of a chance. So many persons came forward to testify all manners of strange occurrences connected with him. He was virtually tried and convicted long before he was arrested in Maine and brought back to Salem Village where he had once been the settlement's pastor. On August 5, Burroughs was brought to trial in Salem Village for the crime of witchcraft. He was found guilty and sentenced to be hanged. To Gallows HillOn August 19, George Burroughs was taken by cart, with other condemned persons to be hung on Gallows Hill. There he ascended a ladder to the hangman's noose. Before he was executed he made a prayer with such "fervency of spirit" that it drew tears to the eyes of many that were present to watch his death. He recited the Lord's Prayer so perfectly, a thing a witch is not suppose to be able to do, that the afflicted girls watching began to shout that they saw a black man next to Burroughs, whispering the words of the prayer in his ear. In a few moments the ladder was removed and George Burroughs hung limp in death. Previous: Burroughs Suspected of Murder: Dead Wives Rise Up to Accuse. Recommended Reading:The Salem Bewitchings Begin: Elizabeth Parris and Abigail Williams Under a Spell. A Witch Cake Baked in Salem Village: Urine Was the Telling Ingredient. Samuel Parris Points First Finger: Tituba and Mary Sibley Blasted from the Pulpit. The Salem Inquisition Begins: Sarah Good Denies Guilt. Hysteria and Terror in Salem: Flying Women and Spectrals Abound. Sources:Hill, Frances. A Delusion of Satan: The Full Story of the Salem Witch Trials. De Capo Press, 1995. Hill, Frances. The Salem Witch Trials Reader. De Capo Press, 1995. Jackson, Shirley. The Witchcraft of Salem Village. Random House, New York, 1956.
The copyright of the article The Hanging of George Burroughs in American History is owned by Mary Trotter Kion. Permission to republish The Hanging of George Burroughs in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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